S6, Ep 112: Smallmouth Transitions and Musky Prep: Matt Reilly's Southwest VA Update
In this episode of The Articulate Fly, host Marvin Cash catches up with Matt Reilly for another Southwest Virginia Fishing Report. They discuss the current transition period in smallmouth fishing, where water temperatures are fluctuating between the mid-sixties to upper seventies. Matt explains how recent rains have brought back power fishing techniques and how the fish are reacting to the changing conditions.
Listeners will appreciate Matt's insights into reading weather and water conditions to determine the best fishing strategies. He also touches on the upcoming musky season, which will start in mid to late October and run through February. Additionally, Matt teases his striper fishing program set for the spring, offering a unique opportunity to fish during the smallmouth spawn.
Marvin encourages listeners to send in their questions for a chance to win Articulate Fly swag and be entered into a drawing for cool prizes from Matt at the end of the season. Don’t miss this episode packed with practical fishing tips, seasonal updates and a touch of humor.
To learn more about Matt, check out our full length interview.
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Speaker:
Marvin: Hey folks, it's Marvin Cash, the host of the Articulate Fly.
Speaker:
Marvin: We're back with another Southwest Virginia Fishing Report with Matt Riley. Matt, how are you?
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Matt: I'm doing all right, man. I'm recovering from a baby-born illness I've been
Speaker:
Matt: struggling with for the last week or so.
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Matt: But we're staying out there.
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Marvin: Yeah, I mean, kudos for not missing any days on the water.
Speaker:
Marvin: It's kind of amazing. When you told me that, it made me think about when we,
Speaker:
Marvin: when our boys were little and they first started to go into daycare and they
Speaker:
Marvin: would bring home this like little house on the prairie plague and they would
Speaker:
Marvin: like spit up a tablespoon and then you were in bed for like four days.
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Matt: Yeah, well, it's a funny story about that. Finnick had been not in daycare for
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Matt: quite a while and he just,
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Matt: he started like one day a week, a couple of weeks ago. I think we've been sick twice since then.
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Marvin: I will tell you it gets better.
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Matt: I'm sure I'm sure it does it was pretty good there for a little while I don't
Speaker:
Matt: think I've been sick since Christmas.
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Marvin: Well don't jinx yourself it's interesting, we were talking before we started
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Marvin: recording you've got probably three more weeks on the Smalley train with a little
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Marvin: bit of fishing for yourself before you jump on the Muskie train but what are
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Marvin: you seeing out on the Smallmouth water.
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Matt: Um, we, we are fairly in transition.
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Matt: We're, we're getting into that, uh, kind of odd in between fall, late summer timeframe.
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Matt: Um, the, uh, water, water trips have been kind of all over the place in the
Speaker:
Matt: last couple of weeks, you know, then all the way down to the like mid to upper
Speaker:
Matt: sixties, mid to lower seventies, upper seventies.
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Matt: Um and what what that means is especially with uh we've had a couple shots of rain,
Speaker:
Matt: um in the last couple weeks it brought the river
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Matt: up we had a big one a couple days ago um so
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Matt: it's brought some uh some kind of
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Matt: power fishing techniques back into into the arsenal um the fish have been a
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Matt: little more you know a little less buggy um particularly in the mornings and
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Matt: a little more willing to chase things fairly aggressively when the water temps
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Matt: have been kind of stably low.
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Matt: Especially with some little bit higher flows.
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Matt: But when we have those couple warm afternoons and lower water and a couple warm
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Matt: days in a row, the bug fishing has been pretty good too.
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Matt: So it's a real grab bag and you're just kind of reading the weather and conditions
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Matt: day to day like you always do.
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Matt: And in certain places, it kind of seems like we've been seeing some fish potted
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Matt: up like we will usually late September.
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Matt: And I mean, we're pretty close to late September.
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Matt: So, you know, things are definitely changing.
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Marvin: Yeah, it's interesting. I think Ellis screwed up the weather forecast again
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Marvin: because I looked at the weather and it's going to actually, you know,
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Marvin: warm up a decent amount kind of in this part of the world for the next week to 10 days.
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Matt: Yeah, that's on you for listening to him.
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Marvin: Well, I was just going to encourage people to bet on the under for whatever
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Marvin: his earliest snowfall date is.
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Matt: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
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Marvin: So as we kind of move deeper, you know, into fall and things start to kind of
Speaker:
Marvin: more consistently cool off, right?
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Marvin: You mentioned the fish potting up. i also would imagine they're going to start
Speaker:
Marvin: to kind of move kind of out of the riffley water and kind of move into the deeper
Speaker:
Marvin: stuff and kind of get ready to kind of hunker down.
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Matt: Um i mean not necessarily there's a long ways between you know upper 60s low
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Matt: 70s and you know upper 40s 50s degree water temperatures they'll uh.
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Matt: Once things really start to cool down, they will feed fairly well for a couple
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Matt: of weeks in preparation for that cold weather that's coming.
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Matt: And that's still several weeks off.
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Matt: But, I mean, you know, we still got warm water and fish being,
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Matt: you know, riffly water smallmouths right now. So that's definitely still a thing.
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Matt: And particularly, you know, before this last shot of rain, things have been real low.
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Matt: And when that's the case, they do tend to hang out oftentimes in the upper and
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Matt: lower extensive of pools, you know, closer to the moving water,
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Matt: just where you have some decent current.
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Matt: Um so i wouldn't say that's
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Matt: changed a ton just yet um and
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Matt: you know we we uh i feel
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Matt: like i say this a lot but when when you're floating down the river just kind
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Matt: of pay attention to where you're seeing food too you know um if you're seeing
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Matt: still seeing minnows and sunfish and things you know right up against the bank
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Matt: and up in riffles and little eddie pockets and stuff then And,
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Matt: you know, you're still good to go.
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Marvin: Got it. And, you know, folks, we love questions on the Articulate Fly.
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Marvin: You can email them to us or DM me on social media.
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Marvin: And if we use your question, I will send you some Articulate Fly swag.
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Marvin: We're going to be drawing for some cool stuff from Matt at the end of the season.
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Marvin: And, you know, Matt, I think I saw an email blast from you, what,
Speaker:
Marvin: maybe a week to 10 days ago, that was kind of giving people kind of an idea
Speaker:
Marvin: of what you had left on your muskie calendar, right?
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Matt: Yes, probably. kind of a general update on everything but muskies are definitely kind of the,
Speaker:
Matt: you know what's in the immediate uh headlights
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Matt: right now um i'll i'll start doing some trips there kind of mid to late october
Speaker:
Matt: um i mean we we we can fish them now i mean i've been a couple of times toting
Speaker:
Matt: some muskie gear along with us smallmouth fishing um,
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Matt: just to kind of poke around some some likely areas and and see what's up but,
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Matt: the uh they'll really start getting hot and heavy kind of late october,
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Matt: early november and and carry it through february early early early march um,
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Matt: And, uh, yeah, I mean, there's some, there's some pretty popular windows that
Speaker:
Matt: have pretty much come offline at this point, but, um, certainly if you'd like
Speaker:
Matt: to get out musky fishing this year, um, so I learned more about it. Just give me a shout.
Speaker:
Matt: Um, looked a lot in that, you know, November, December timeframe, um, January.
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Matt: So, uh, but there's still, there's still plenty left and, and a couple of good,
Speaker:
Matt: you know, I say good, but what most people would consider prime moon dates.
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Matt: Give me a shout if you're interested, for sure.
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Marvin: Yeah, and you also, if I remember correctly, you were teasing your striper program, right?
Speaker:
Matt: Yeah, man. That's about halfway booked already, believe it or not.
Speaker:
Matt: We'll be doing some spring spawn and run striper fishing for about three weeks
Speaker:
Matt: after our smallmouths start spawning.
Speaker:
Matt: And then, you know, middle April or so through early May is when we'll be striper fishing.
Speaker:
Matt: That's a cool program. Something a little, you know, we've been working on it.
Speaker:
Matt: It'll be new for me this year.
Speaker:
Matt: Just a chance to kind of get out of town while our smallmouth are creating the
Speaker:
Matt: next generation and take some pressure off of our smallmouth fisheries and do
Speaker:
Matt: something that's firing pretty hot at that time.
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Marvin: Yeah, very, very cool. Well, listen, I want to let you rest your voice so that
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Marvin: you have an easier day on the boat tomorrow.
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Marvin: But, you know, as I always say, folks, you owe it yourself to get out there and catch a few.
Speaker:
Marvin: Tight lines, everybody. Tight lines, Matt.
Speaker:
Matt: Thanks, Marvin.
Matt Reilly
Guide | Fly Tier | Outdoor Writer
Matt grew up stomping around the warm water creeks and rivers of his native central Virginia, just a stone's throw from the James River. He's been blessed with a great many mentors, including his father, who introduced him to fishing before the age of two.
In his teenage years, Matt took his first professional venture into the outdoor industry as a freelance writer and photographer, and soon secured a weekly outdoor column in The Daily Progress' Rural Virginian.
After heading south for college and falling in love with the fisheries of southwest Virginia, Matt established his guide service in 2018. Today, he is a father, husband, USCG-licensed captain, and a leading fishing guide specializing in smallmouth bass, musky, and other predatory game fish. He speaks regularly on a range of topics. His writing has appeared in several national and regional publications like Eastern Fly Fishing, American Angler, Fly Tyer, Southern Trout, Hatch Magazine, and Virginia Wildlife. He is also an ambassador for Reilly Rod Crafters, a producer of premium fly rods based in Virginia.
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